Butcher Time - Hogs

[booker81]

Reading that link....

Now I have to somehow convince DH that I should go an raise a pig to eat : Hmmm.....

 

[Brunty_Farms]

Quote:
Great post.... it doesn't look that hard to do. I'm wondering how hard that would be in the summer though...

 

[Raiquee]

I think it would simply be a huge pain in the neck in summer! Harder to keep it clean, bugs, heat against you, wouldn't be able to hang it up in your garage like us Northerns can do! Couldn't walk away from it for very long...I think if possible use the winter for you rather than against

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

* ambles up to the discussion eating a pork chop *

say folks.. anybody heard from bigredfeather??? hope it went well... kinda wondering whats going on there....

say Brunty! how's it goin? you didnt butcher your hogs!?! really?


sure you can butcher in summer especially if you are having a hog roast. Bourbon Red does this every summer. i'm guessing that finding somewhere to chill them (if you arent roasting) is the hardest part. you only have to hang them for a day to chill before you cut and freeze. if you can remove the hams you'll have less to chill and might be able to get them in an emptied fridge (coldest setting) or in a (huge) cooler of ice. however i know someone who just dressed them the same day because thats what onsite butchers do all the time.

for the record, we found the .22 not to be the best choice for us. we use a 9mm because yeah... if you just make them hogs mad you have a problem on your hand. and yep sometimes it takes more than one shot to drop them. and nope, its no darn good if you have to chase them an acre before them flop over.

we had one not-great kill but it did not taint the meat at all. if they dont bleed out effectively, or bleed into the body cavity, you can just trim that part out.

if you have hard-to-move-hogs or dont have a couple of big guys to move them you can always shoot in the yard, point them down hill to bleed out, and then drag a pallet out there to heave them up onto and out of the mud and stuff. once they are gutted they are easy(er) to move.

(hi Raiquee!!!)

also if you want to HEAR about but not see in full color glory (gory???) what happened on our hog harvest you can click here (NO pix):

http://adventuresinthegoodland.blogspot.com/2010/12/hog-harvest-2010-recap-day-one.html

Brunty if you need recommendations for curing/smoking the hams lemme know.


yours in pork,
ofg

 

[biddyboo]

Are you a reader of the Foxfire books? I'm thinking there is a chapter in one of those that describes with pictures old time hog butchering. Probably much like you remember from your parents. Just an idea. ~G

 

[Brunty_Farms]

Quote:
Hey... I was going to hunt you down! This post got me wondering where you were? So... where the heck did you go?

NO....I didn't not butcher my hogs I took them somewhere to get processed I'm such a wimp but I'm going to do it next time around. I have to now that you're calling me out.

Anyways... hope you stick around, the ladies have been out numbered recently in this forum.

 

[dmiravalle]

We use a .22 to the cross between the eyes and ears, imagine an X. Also, if you give them a quick treat first, they look at you expentantly, but you should try to seperate them the night before, it will make you life MUCH easier. Also, stress can change the taste and texture of your meat!!!!

Once the pig drops, we slit the throat and bleed out for about 25 minutes, then hoist the pig up, slit up the belly and gut it out, you will need a VERY sharp knife to cut stuff loose ( I am sure you know about bladder/gallbladder stuff)

Then we take off the head, again with a sharp knife slipping through the vertabrae, we then skin in strips from the back legs down towards the neck. Chop off the feety's, and rinse off inside and out. The sharper the knife the better.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

lol, OFG calls on Jeff to Cowboy up!

still no sign of BRF, you think he might be out there until midnight? what was the movie where they shot the huge pig and the pig fell on the guy? . . . hope he's ok out there.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

Hey... I was going to hunt you down! This post got me wondering where you were? So... where the heck did you go?

NO....I didn't not butcher my hogs I took them somewhere to get processed I'm such a wimp but I'm going to do it next time around. I have to now that you're calling me out.

Anyways... hope you stick around, the ladies have been out numbered recently in this forum.

hey buddy!

i'm usually over at SS.. where folks dont think that 'dressing poultry' means putting little outfits on them
;-)

or you can find me on my blog where all manner of foolishness happens.

and nah you're not a wimp.. if i remember right, you had a whole bunch of them pigs to deal with. but yep you can do it next time around. after we got past the dispatching them part of the day we were home free. now i cant wait to get my hands on a steer.

and HA.. sorry didnt mean to call you out.....

....but

i am just a girl, half your size, and i was there in the splash zone on backup fixin' to drop that pig with an axe and my trusty war hound if things went bad....... and i was on guts, skinning, and parting up

JUST KIDDING!!!!...... you know i think you are the beez kneez.. we all still sing songs around the campfire of when you butchered all those turkeys in one fell swoop.

KatyTCL... i am kinda worried about that BRF.. either their arms hurt so bad they cant type or they are out in a field some where in a heap. YIKES!
;-)​

 

[Raiquee]

Hi OFG

Sorry i've been posting your link everywheres, it's just such a good tutorial from BR and your experience follow up is also a good one!